MADISON, Wis. The Filene Research Institute announced a $700,000 grant from the Ford Foundation this morning that will fund its financial services incubator that will test, package, and scale innovative, viable financial products that aid low-and-moderate-income consumers.
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Filene said he goal is to test five consumer-centric financial innovative products in 25 credit unions, reaching at least 5,000 consumers in the 18-month testing phase. The credit union think tank will advance the most promising concepts with the end result of large-scale implementation and commercialization of at least one of the five products.
Participating credit unions must: |
- Demonstrate the ability to incorporate emerging products into its operations and systematically pilot their features over a period of 18 months.
- Offer the product on a pilot basis to at least 200 of your members
- Document pilot-test results in accordance with the research protocol and guidelines.
- Provide insightful commentary on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)—along with recommendations at the granular, operational level—around pilot products.
Applications must be submitted to Filene by Oct. 1.
